Postcard from Pike Township: Working on the Oak Hill Rail Road

Adrian Eskew calls the mile of railroad track he put down on the ridge next to his cattle pasture the Oak Hill Rail Road. His collection of cabooses houses and displays the multitude of museum-quality railroad artifacts he has collected since he began his hobby in the 1960s.

Adrian Eskew calls the mile of railroad track he put down on the ridge next to his cattle pasture the Oak Hill Rail Road.

The name is appropriate. Hills roll on his 27 acres of property and trees dot the farmland. “Eighty percent of the trees on the farm are oak trees,” he said with a smile.

Eskew, a former movie projectionist in theaters in downtown Canton and at what then was Canton Centre Mall, notes the name of his railway at his home on Briggle Avenue SW, northwest of East Sparta.

“OAK HILL CROSSING” is on a crossing sign posted in front of a Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad “Caboose 0491” that rests on short lengths of track across the road from his home. Another caboose has become a part of that home and three more restored cabooses stand on the property near his barns — the New York Central and Chesapeake & Ohio cars are owned by Eskew, while another New York Central caboose is owned by the leader of the Boy Scouts he allows to meet on his farm.

Eskew’s cabooses do not just sit idle. They house and display the multitude of museum-quality railroad artifacts he has collected since he began his hobby in the 1960s. Switch locks. Switch lanterns. Pressure gauges. A locomotive light. Builders plates. Rail-laying tools.

Each caboose has been restored as close to its original working condition as possible, including exterior paint and interior bunks, desks and observation chairs.

“When I got the first two, the ones above, I was interested in trying to preserve a little bit of history,” said Eskew, who is CEO and one of the engineers for the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society. “We’ve lost so much of our railroad history. My goal is to preserve a little bit of history to share with the kids.”

Besides the Scouts, Eskew has shared his railroad memorabilia with the Pike Grange, church groups and even bridal parties.

“I had two or three weddings,” he noted. “I brought the bride around on a train and they had a ceremony. It was different.”

Eskew’s train, with a pair of open observation cars, is towed by one of two small locomotives, one powered by diesel fuel and gasoline and the other steam-powered.

“I laid about 70 percent of the track myself,” said Eskew, who also built a small train station adjacent to the track.

“All aboard!” he announces, quite naturally warning passengers that there will be a sudden movement. From there, it’s smooth riding to where the track ends at the edge of a stand of trees.

“From this point, I could go another 600 to 800 feet, then drop down and come back through the pasture. That’s my intention,” said Eskew, who now has to back his train up to its starting point near the display of cabooses.

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Two of the cabooses — the ones near his home — he obtained from a nearby farm. With their wheels removed, they once were used as lodging for migrant workers. The two on the farm below once traveled with trains that ran through Ohio.

Beside the cabooses are a few smaller cars. An observation tower — marked with the name McKinley — is erected in his rail yard and a handcar is displayed along his railroad track. Signs related to railroads are spread throughout.

Eskew has had some help restoring and maintaining his railroad equipment. On this day, Lynn Butts, who is in charge of locomotives for Orrville Railroad Heritage Society, is preparing to coat the roof of one of the cabooses. Country music plays through a speaker system in the background.

Most of it is just a slow and patient labor of love for Eskew, who works each day, especially since his retirement in 1996, to turn his farm into a sort of rail yard.

“It was a fantasy way back when I was young,” he said. “I always was fascinated by locomotives.”